Archive for the ‘candidate interviews’ Category

Since Kent and I are very good online friends, and talk every day (sometimes several times per day) via IM and email but have never met or spoken in “real life”, this was a very big treat for me. After you watch this, you’ll see why I’m proud to call Kent my friend, and why we became friends in the first place. He’s just one helluva nice guy, very intelligent, and extremely personable.

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At the South Carolina debate, Republican candidates were asked if they would torture prisoners.Some of them thought torture was just fine.

What is the libertarian answer to the torture question?It’s the American answer, the answer the American people have already given. Torture is a crime against civilization, reviled by all patriotic Americans.

Let’s take it from the top.

First, there is nothing for a President to decide.

Inside the United States, torture is a felony.If you are anywhere in the United States, and you torture someone, you are committing more crimes than I care to list.There is no exception in those laws for government officials.

If you are an American abroad and torture someone, it’s a felony.If your victim dies, you have earned the death penalty.There is no exception in those laws for government officials.

Second, those laws reflect the wisdom of the American people. Torturers are the filth of the earth, properly grouped with child molesters and mercenaries.We need not ask what the founding fathers and their fellows thought of mercenaries.Their position is enshrined in the third verse of The Star-Spangled Banner:

“And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion A home and a country should leave us no more? Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave,”

Third, there are people who get their jollies from snatching people off the streets, hustling them off to remote places, and inflicting great pain and degradation on them.These people have their enablers: television producers and actors who portray torturers as heroes and patriots. Torturers and their advocates are perverts, shunned by decent human beings.

Finally, thoughtful Americans should find it hysterically funny to watch the same gaggle of Republican Presidential candidates first say they would torture a defenseless prisoner, and then pander to the Republican Christian Right.The required depth of hypocrisy surpasses all belief. (more…)

If elected, I would take the oath of office, swearing to uphold the Constitution, but unlike past presidents I would not only swear to it I would always do it. I will diligently use the executive powers granted me to restore the democratic republic we were established to be.

I will focus on individual liberty because I believe social and economic progress occurs only through liberty. Regardless of your political party affiliation, I invite you to my campaign website LibertarianforPresident.com to read about the only presidential candidate truly dedicated to the U.S. Constitution, fiscal conservatism, and social progress. I am superior to all other presidential candidates regardless of their political party because my priority is the American people. Our peace. Our freedom. Our prosperity. Our equality. Read my platform.

But since this is a debate between Libertarian candidates seeking the presidential candidate nomination, I ask you this question…What do you really want your Libertarian presidential candidate to accomplish? Think about it for a moment. What do you really want them to do?

I’ve asked that question of many Libertarians nationwide. I’ve already attended the San Diego Libertarian Convention, the Oregon LP Convention, the New Mexico LP Convention and the Indiana Libertarian Convention where I asked this question…I also asked many Libertarians nationwide on the phone this question…and without exception everyone tells me they want their Libertarian presidential candidate to reach out to more American people.

This is the most essential quality we must look for in choosing a candidate–the ability to effectively communicate the LP message to millions of non-Libertarians. Of course, that statement coincides with everything else Libertarians tell me…that their spokesperson (which is what our presidential candidate is–a spokesperson for the Libertarian Party) must be knowledgeable, willing to travel the country and address Americans at every opportunity they can, and said candidate must be a true Libertarian. (more…)

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The following interview was conducted by Phil Defer, a French student who has been interviewing US presidential candidates for his forum.

1. Could you introduce yourself in a few sentences ? ‘

I am a leader for medical rights here in the USA and I have written two books on drug policy reform.

2. How was your political engagement born ?

I helped write and pass California’s historic medical marijuana law and then was arrested for passing a law the police did not like.

3. What personal way drove you to compete for the presidency of the United States ?

The sorry legacy of George W. Bush.

4. Can you tell me some key points about your program, the main ideas ?

I am a one issue candidate who believes this is no more about Marijuana than the Boston Tea Party was about Tea. Our struggle today is for true liberty from tyrannical governments.
5. How do you view the upcoming campaign, can you give us some elements about what it represents in term of hardships, opportunities… in the US system, and what about your strategy ?

This election is a complete mess with anything as a possible outcome.

6. Political fiction : It’s January, the 20th, 2009. You have just been elected president ! What are your first steps, your priorities ?

My first step, within minutes of being sworn in as President, would be to issue Executive Order 13420 which would immediately defund the DEA and all laws against marijuana.

7. What are America’s biggest internal problems today, and what are your answers ?

America is saddled with an illegal, unconstitutional, power-hungry oligarchy of thugs.

8. Same question for America’s external problems.

Same answer.

9. More specifically, what do you think should be done on Iraq and national security ?

Leave NOW!

10. What about environment ?

Allow private citizens to sue giant corporations when their pollution enters your land or body.

Below is an announcement from XM Satellite Radio. There’s no word on whether they will provide third party coverage, but it would certainly seem so since 24/7 commercial-free is an awful lot of airtime to fill (and it’s going to get very boring, very quickly, if it covers only the two major parties):

XM Satellite Radio announced it will launch a new radio channel dedicated to the 2008 presidential election, marking the first time that a national radio channel has been devoted to a presidential campaign. The 24-hour, commercial-free channel, created in association with C-SPAN and other media outlets, will be called “POTUS ‘08.” The channel’s name (pronounced POH-tus) is the acronym used by government insiders for the President of the United States.

From their website, here’s a rundown of what to expect from POTUS when it goes live in September:

THE MISSION

Provide unbiased and commercial-free coverage of the 2008 presidential election.

Create a destination for voters to get politically neutral information about the election process and unprecedented access to the candidates.

Provide a pipeline to the candidates and their campaigns to communicate without filter to the American people.

Provide information from beyond the traditional media to include new media sources.

Provide perspective on the election process from a historical and current view.

Maintain the highest standards of professional integrity and neutrality.

FREE TO AIRCreated as a public service, POTUS ‘08 will be broadcast free to all XM radio receivers. Whether you are a paid subscriber or not, you can still listen to all the presidential coverage.

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